Impact of Trauma on Nutritional Behavior Mini Course | National Academy of Neuronutrition
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National Academy of Neuronutrition

NewAdvanced Education Intensive

Trauma & Nutritional Behavior

A four-hour course exploring how traumatic stress impacts the brain and bodily processes involved in hunger, appetite, food choice, eating, and nutrition.

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  • 4 Hours
  • On-Demand
  • Only $199
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Trauma disrupts the neurobiology of eating.

The neural systems that are most impacted by traumatic stress play a significant role in regulating appetite and food choice. Despite this irrefutable fact, the impact of trauma on nutritional behavior is often overlooked, dismissed, or downplayed.

  1. Nutrition influences the brain and nervous system.

  2. Trauma influences the brain, nervous system, and nutrition.

  3. The brain and nervous system influence nutrition.

Learn how traumatic stress influences nutritional behavior from the inside out.

Traumatic Stress & Nutritional Behavior brings neuroscience, trauma science, and nutrition together so you can feel more confident with complex cases where trauma, food, body concerns, and mental health overlap.

A distinctive area of expertise.

Develop knowledge at the intersection of trauma, neuroscience, and nutrition that few practitioners are currently trained to apply.

Give clients answers they haven’t had before.

Help clients understand why eating can be difficult for them and what may be contributing to it.

Make confusing behaviors make sense.

Give clients a clearer explanation for nutritional patterns they may have struggled to understand for years.

Help clients understand why eating feels so hard.

Connect their experiences with food and their body to processes they can actually understand and work with.

Give clients a new way to understand themselves—without shame.

Help them make sense of nutritional behaviors they may have previously attributed to willpower, motivation, or personal failure.

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Develop expertise that sets you and your practice apart.

This intensive is designed for practitioners who work with people affected by trauma, have a complex relationship with food and their body, and struggle to change their nutritional behavior.

  • Dietitians, Nutritionists, and Nutrition Coaches whose clients' eating patterns don't respond to standard guidance
  • Therapists, Psychologists, and Addiction Counselors who see food, appetite, and digestion show up in trauma work
  • Health Coaches, Wellness Coaches, and Personal Trainers supporting clients with chronic stress histories
  • Natural Health and Integrative Practitioners, Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants who want a trauma-sensitive nutrition lens
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“This course has helped me put language and structure around patterns I've observed for many years. As a dietitian, I've often worked with clients whose symptoms couldn't be fully explained by nutrition alone, especially when histories of chronic stress or trauma were present.…”
Portrait of Jessica Mueller, MS, RDN, IFNCP
Jessica Mueller, MS, RDN, IFNCPFounder, The Mind Body Kitchen
“I’ve seen, both personally and professionally, how trauma impacts the human body, brain, and mind. What we eat, and what happens to us, profoundly affects our brain. Neuronutrition can play a vital role in healing trauma. I believe this work has the power to truly change lives.”
Portrait of Dr. Courtney Tracy, PsyD, LCSW
Dr. Courtney Tracy, PsyD, LCSWFounder, Exist Centers; Author, Your Unconscious Is Showing

Develop specialized expertise you can’t get anywhere else.

As the only course of its kind, this Intensive provides a specialized framework to help you deeply understand your complex cases, tailor recommendations to every client, and apply key insights immediately in your practice.

Unit 1: Connecting Trauma and NutritionUnderstand why traumatic stress affects your clients' nutritional health long after the traumatic experience.
  • Understand how trauma affects nutritional health.
  • Recognize the nutritional consequences of traumatic stress.
  • Identify opportunities for more individualized care.
  • Recognize things other practitioners may overlook.
Unit 2: Neuroscience of Appetite and Food ChoiceDiscover what actually drives your clients' appetite and food choices beyond hunger and nutritional knowledge.
  • Understand how the brain regulates appetite.
  • Recognize what influences food choices.
  • Explain why knowing what to eat doesn't always lead to doing it.
  • Deeply understand why clients make certain food choices, even when they want to eat differently.
Unit 3: How Trauma Changes Our Relationship With Food and BodyUnderstand why food and bodily experiences can become sources of distress for clients who have a history of trauma chronic complex health conditions.
  • Recognize how trauma affects interoception and bodily sensations.
  • Understand the origins of food-related fear and shame.
  • Help clients develop greater trust in their bodily experiences.
  • Adjust your approach so your clients feel safe and capable of meeting their nutritional needs.
Unit 5: Recognizing Trauma in Nutritional BehaviorLearn to recognize how traumatic stress may contribute to nutritional behaviors that seem confusing or difficult to change.
  • Recognize nine categories of trauma-related expressions.
  • Recognize when conventional nutrition advice may be ineffective or unhelpful.
  • Understand why certain nutritional behaviors persist. And identify what may be driving these behaviors.
  • Know how to respond with greater precision and avoid interventions that overlook your clients' needs.
Unit 6: Supporting Traumatic Stress Recovery with NeuronutritionTransform your understanding of trauma and nutrition into practical strategies you can use with your clients.
  • Evaluate nutritional behavior through a trauma-informed lens.
  • Adapt recommendations to each client's needs and capacities.
  • Support sustainable changes in nutritional behavior.
  • Build the skills to provide trauma-informed individualized support that respects your clients' capacities and helps them make progress.
  • 4 hours of advanced education
  • On-demand, self-paced access
  • Earn continuing education credits i
  • Digital certificate of completion & badge
“Neuronutrition strengthens my work by allowing me to address behavior change at the level of the nervous system and biology, not just mindset. It gives me the scientific framework to explain cravings, emotional eating, restriction, and fatigue as biological signals—not personal failures.…”
Portrait of Lauren Dike
Lauren DikeSomatic Practitioner & Performance Consultant
“Stepping into the National Academy of Neuronutrition has been one of the most validating and transformative experiences of my professional and personal life. I found Timothy online by chance, but what his work, and this Academy, has given me is anything but accidental.…”
Portrait of Erin Moran
Erin MoranHealth and Fitness Coach & Founder, Maintain Lean

One affordable course fee.

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Trauma & Nutritional Behavior

Current tuition: $199Regular tuition: $299

Includes:

  • 4 hours of advanced education
  • Earn continuing education credits i
  • Digital certificate of completion & badge
  • On-demand access
  • Learn at your pace
Get Instant Access | Save 50%

Earn CE Credits.

When you complete the Trauma & Nutritional Behavior Advanced Education Intensive, you will be awarded 4 continuing education (CE) credits by the National Academy of Neuronutrition.

The National Academy of Neuronutrition is accredited by the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists℠ (BCNS℠) to provide Nutrition Professional Continuing Education (NPCE) credits for Certified Nutrition Specialists® (CNS®).

The National Academy of Neuronutrition designates the Trauma & Nutritional Behavior Advanced Education Intensive activity/material for a maximum of 4 NPCE Credits.

National Academy of Neuronutrition is an Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy (IFNA) Approved Continuing Professional Education (CPEU) Provider.

Those who hold the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Certified Practitioner (IFNCP) credential are eligible to receive up to 4 IFNA CPEUs from this activity.

†Acceptance of continuing education credits is determined solely by the policies of each certifying or licensing organization. We strongly recommend confirming acceptance prior to enrollment. We cannot guarantee acceptance of by all organizations.

Frequently asked questions.

How is the course delivered?

Entirely online. The course is self-paced, so you can start anytime and move through it on your own schedule.

Who is this course designed for?

Experienced health, mental health, and nutrition practitioners who already work with clients and want to understand how trauma and chronic stress shape nutritional behavior.

Does this course change my scope of practice?

No. It adds neurobiological understanding and trauma-sensitive language to the expertise you already have. You continue to practice within your own professional scope.

What will I learn?

How trauma affects HPA axis function, digestion, and nutrient absorption; nutritional patterns common in trauma survivors and their neurobiological basis; neuronutrition strategies that support nervous system regulation and safety; and trauma-sensitive communication approaches for nutritional support.

How do I enroll?

Use an enrollment button on this page to open the enrollment page for this mini course.

Bring a trauma-sensitive lens to nutrition.

100% online, self-paced, and ready when you are.

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